John Woo and Chow Yun Fat Double Bill
Hard Boiled / The Killer
Please Read before purchasing
These are fan made blurays and cannot be purchased anywhere else.
HARD BOILED
Disc 1:
The only genuine HD transfer in the world, sourced from Japan. Color corrected to match the original theatrical print. Image quality FAR exceeds releases by Dragon Dynasty and anyone else for that matter.
Audio Tracks:
1. Cantonese 2.0 Uncompressed LPCM
2. Cantonese 5.1 Surround Remix DTS-HD
3. English Dub 5.1 Dolby
4. Mandarin Dub 5.1 Dolby
5. John Woo, Terence Chang Commentary
6. John Woo, Terence Chang, Roger Avery and Dave Kehr Commentary
7. Bey Logan Commentary
Disc 2 Special Features:
1. Taiwan Extended Version of Hard Boiled
This is a doozy of a special feature. This is the rare, extended Taiwan version of Hard Boiled, presented here complete and unedited. Longer than the theatrical version. It contains many minor differences throughout the film, including alternate takes in some scenes.
2. The Making of Hard Boiled
A documentary that was originally only available on the French HKVideo DVD. We commissioned new English subtitles since the original only had French subtitles
3. Interview with John Woo
4. Interview with Tony Leung
This feature was originally only available on the French HKVideo DVD. We commissioned new English subtitles.
5. Interview with Terence Chang
6. Interview with Philip Chan
7. Interview with Kwok Choi
8. Location Guide On-site tour of the shooting locations for Hard Boiled
9. Alternative Opening Scene
10. John Woo's Student Film Originally only available on the long OOP Criterion DVD
11. Trailer Gallery Collection of all theatrical and home video trailers for Hard Boiled
12. Hong Kong Rescue Trailer
THE KILLER
The Killer HKR Definitive Edition 2 Blu-ray Disc Set
Synopsis:
A rightious assassin (Chow Yun-fat), an obsessed cop (Danny Lee), and a beautiful night club singer (Sally Yeh) cross paths with the law, the triads and each other, in one of Hong Kong cinema's most celebrated bullet ballets. Filled with remorse for blinding an innocent bystander, Chow Yun-fat must complete on last "job" to help pay for her eye surgery to clear his conscience.
At the time of it's release Hong Kong was inundated with over-the-top action films, (many of them staring Chow Yun-fat) but THE KILLER, with it's iconic John Woo trademarks, has endured as a prime example of the 'heroic bloodshed' subgenre. With it's high-octane action set pieces and melodramatic characterizations, director John Woo finally caught the attention of Western audiences (and Hollywood) and paved the way for his work in America in the following decade.
What makes our version special:
We spent an enormous amount of time trying to put together the best version of this film we possibly could. We undertook an extensive restoration with scene-by-scene color grading and fully reconstructed and restored opening titles and closing credits. In addition to John Woo's preferred (and commonly available) 111 minute Theatrical cut, we've included the rare 124 minute Extended version and the even more rare 136 minute Taiwanese version. This gives fans the opportunity to compare and contrast these three different cuts and enjoy all the deleted scenes, extended footage and alternate takes.
The Theatrical cut underwent a scene-by-scene color grading with the out-of-print Criterion release serving as a reference. Over 2600 unique LUTs were generated and matched on a scene by scene basis.
We've carefully synced up eight different audio tracks including three commentaries. The default audio track is based on the Scandinavian Scanbox DVD, which was determined to be the clearest and best sounding of the original Cantonese audio tracks.
For the subtitles, we've commissioned the creation of a brand new line-by-line English translation that transforms the film. Far superior to older translations, these new subtitles better convey the actors performances and add immensely to the enjoyment of the film.
We've also included two secondary subtitle tracks that are based on the Criterion release as well as the Fox Lorber release. Many people grew up with these subs and have a nostalgic attachment to them so we made sure to include them as an option.
We paid a lot of attention to the font, position and overall readability of the subs. Careful tweaking ensures that each line flashes on and off of the screen at precisely the right time.
In addition to the three different cuts of the film, the multitude of audio options, and three subtitle tracks to choose from, we've stuffed hours of additional special features onto Disc 2, many of which are exclusive to Hong Kong Rescue. You'll get to enjoy interviews of the director, cast and crew, behind-the-scenes documentaries, promotional images, a trailer gallery, deleted scenes and so much more.
We truly pulled out all the stops to ensure this stands as the ultimate release of John Woo's masterpiece for a long time to come.
Disc 1 Features:
Exclusive Restoration - Thousands of instances of dirt, dust, scratches and broken frames were removed. Motion problems that existed in the original sources were fully repaired.
Restored Opening Titles & Ending Credits - We meticulously and seamlessly restored the original Cantonese opening titles as well as the closing credits.
Shot-By-Shot Color Grading - The only home video release of The Killer that John Woo was personally involved with in signing off on the color grading was the long out-of-print Criterion laserdisc and DVD releases that came out in the mid-1990s. We used this version as a reference and generated over 2600 LUTs which matched Woo's preferred grading for each and every shot in the film.
The Most Accurate Subtitles - Brand new subtitles were created from scratch with a new English translation of the original Cantonese dialogue.
Secondary Subtitles - We additionally include two secondary subtitle tracks based on the Criterion DVD and Fox Lorber DVD. You have the option of choosing which translation you'd prefer.
Authored At The Highest Standard - We took every effort to ensure that this release is polished and professional in all aspects. Seamless navigation with audio and subtitle selection menus, chapter selection screens for both the Theatrical and Extended versions as well as Pop-up menus ensure a fantastic viewing experience.
Audio Tracks
Original Cantonese 2.0 LPCM (Scanbox DVD)
Original Cantonese 2.0 LPCM (Criterion LD)
Cantonese Hybrid 2.0 LPCM (HKR Exclusive)
English Dub 5.1 DTS-HD (Hong Kong Legends DVD)
Mandarin 5.1 DTS-HD (Universe Laser & Video Co. DVD)
John Woo & Terence Chang Commentary (Criterion DVD)
John Woo Commentary (Fox Lorber / Winstar DVD)
Bey Logan Commentary (Hong Kong Legends DVD)
Both the Extended Version and Taiwanese Version feature Mandarin 2.0 audio.
Disc 2 Special Features
Taiwanese Version - 2:16:47
Image Gallery - 20:41
The Restoration - 16:59
Introduction (An Essay) - 15:20
The Making Of The Killer - 32:14
Chow Yun-Fat Interview - 19:49
Sally Yeh Interviews - 24:21
Kenneth Tsang Interviews - 24:44
Peter Pau Interview - 14:06
Deleted Scenes - 8:45
Kill Count - 4:50
Code of Bullets - 10:21
Action Video - 4:58
Taiwanese Promos - 11:37
The Evolution Of Gunkata - 9:56
Crossings: John Woo - 47:10
Moving Pictures - 14:20
Jimmy Cage Retrospective - 9:27
John Woo's Trademarks - 8:39
Sally Yeh MTV - 8:53
Trailer Gallery - 26:13
Hong Kong Rescue - 1:37
Total Length of Special Features: 7 hours, 39 minutes